What I’d argue, rather, is that the Tea Party’s philosophy of government (again, as understood by Salam) has embedded within it an aversion to basic democratic principles that goes far beyond a typical contempt for Washington, politicians and pundits. When Salam writes that Teatopia is founded on a commitment to a “robust federalism” intended to let “different states … offer different visions of the good life” and allow citizens to “vote with their feet” by moving to whichever state best reflects their values, he’s not describing a common aversion to corruption or a distaste for political theater. He’s describing a childish and essentially anti-political belief that a return to an Articles of Confederation-style U.S. order — in which each state is more of a sovereign unto itself than a member of a larger American whole — will produce 50 mini-nations where everyone basically agrees.

Here’s a story that makes me hate people. Just go read the post. Calling a dying woman’s tweets about her, you know, dying, “deathbed selfies” is vile. Seriously, what is wrong with these people? If you have other feelings about how people should live or die, you can keep them to yourself, Keller family and mouth-breathers at Fishbowl DC. No one asked you, and no one ever will.

As pointed out in the open thread last night, the Deputy State Treasurer has been denied her request to return to a Merit job following her medical leave and resignation from the Department of the Treasury. So we have an employee of the Treasury who resigned her office, but took a medical leave to deal with an unnamed situation, who is back in the office now (doing what?) and is now told by OMB that she will not be allowed to return to the merit system. And of course, Chip Flowers is still pointing fingers (at the OMB) and is now threatening them:

“I am very concerned that the OMB continues to publicly talk about personnel matters, which clearly violates the state’s privacy and confidentiality policies,” Flowers said. “While I recognize that Director Visalli and the staff of OMB, if the state gets sued, would not have to write a personal check, I think it’s egregious they’re willing to put taxpayers on the hook for a large lawsuit just to cover their you-know-whats in public.”

Thought I’d take a stab at the open thread. I’m really trying to figure out the Republican position on sequester. This is what I’ve come up: Blame Obama for the cuts we love. Ezra Klein doesn’t understand the Republican position either.

So what’s on your mind today? Tax Day this year is April 17, but in honor of everyone who is trying to get their taxes in order today, we have this video showing you how to get a tax rate like Mitt Romney’s. This video is about 1 minute long and put down all drinks first. It’s hilarious!

Sorry this Open Thread is late — much going on today. Please be sure to see Pandora’s excellent blogging on the Red Clay mess and be sure to pass this info on to your friends and relatives who might live in Red Clay. She’s done an excellent job of turning over the rock that is Red Clay decision-making.